The invention relates to an apparatus for stiffening textile sheets of various shapes for the manufacture of garments by coating them with plastic, especially for the stiffening of outer fabrics, said apparatus consisting of a device for coating the textile sheets and a device for the subsequent heat treatment thereof as well as a belt-shaped conveyor mechanism for conveying the textile sheets through these devices, the coating device having a printing unit with a printing cylinder arranged above a pressure roller and the heat treatment device having a tunnel dryer.
With a known apparatus (German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,552,878, FIG. 3) the belt-shaped conveyor mechanism is subdivided transversely to its conveying direction before the heat treatment device. In practice, two conveyor belts are present, the conveyor belt of the coating device being considerably drawn forward and extended in the conveying plane, respectively before and after the printing cylinder and pressure roller, for the purpose of forming a feed station. The conveyor belt of the coating device is furthermore in one piece and is guided over the pressure roller with its upper strand. The pressure roller and printing cylinder are thus pressable on one another only with the inclusion of the conveyor belt. For cleaning the remains of plastic and the like from the conveyor belt, a washing bath is provided for said belt at the end thereof. A disadvantage with this apparatus is that owing to the above-mentioned construction it requires frequent servicing and cleaning.